Promoter says no money for refunds

WITH less than $20 left in the bank, the promoter of a three-day camping and music festival who was forced to cancel due to floods has said he cannot afford to refund ticket holders.

More than 3000 music fans paid $200 to attend Playground Weekender at Wisemans Ferry but it was cancelled with just 36 hours notice, when severe flood warnings were issued for the Hawkesbury River and residents were evacuated.

The promoter, Andy Rigby, said yesterday no part of the $1 million spent on stages, security and international and local bands could be recouped and therefore he had no money to give back to punters.

''If I had $20 left to pay back someone's ticket, then I would,'' he said, adding that ticket holders should raise a dispute with their bank, ticket seller or PayPal.

Mr Rigby conceded he should have insured against the festival being forcibly cancelled due to a natural disaster.

''In hindsight, it's not easy, yes, it's something I wish we had been covered for,'' he said.

A spokesman for NSW Fair Trading said they would not investigate Mr Rigby as ''the circumstances of the cancellation … are not entirely attributable to this trader''.

Mr Rigby has run the festival at a loss for the past five years and said this year's event was on track to be the first to make a profit. Last year, he wrote off $1.5 million in investment and loans.

In 2009, the Herald reported Mr Rigby had advertised and sold tickets for the 2010 festival before paying bands, contractors and ancillary staff from the previous year.

One band manager whose musicians were owed $6000 spent six months ''screaming down the phone'' at Mr Rigby until he was told to pick up the money, in cash, from a Chinese restaurant in Cabramatta, the manager said.

One of Mr Rigby's companies, Playground Music, went into liquidation in 2007 owing $172,000. Another, PM Rigby, is in administration. Playground Agency was deregistered in 2010, Playground Touring was deregistered last year and Playground Entertainment was deregistered in 2009 and last year. Mr Rigby said it was unlikely there would be another Playground Weekender.

''I think we could have done some things differently,'' he said. ''It's not been ideal; it's been extremely exhausting. The reason why we kept going was because we believed it was something people loved.''